Review and Update of Canada's Code Development System (1996-2003)

The 1995-2000 Strategic Plan of the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (CCBFC) recognized that improvements could be made to the model code development and review process to better reflect the needs of provincial and territorial authorities, and code users. Coordinating provincial and territorial efforts with the national process would lead to a reduction:

• in the differences in technical content between model national codes and provincial and territorial codes,
• in delays in provincial and territorial adoption of the latest model codes, and
• in the duplication of public consultations at the national and provincial levels.

In 1996, the CCBFC established a joint Task Group comprised of members of the CCBFC and the Provincial/Territorial Committee on Building Standards (PTCBS). The Task Group's mandate was to make recommendations that would improve provincial/territorial participation in the model code development process, such as coordinated national/provincial/territorial public reviews of proposed code changes. The nine Task Group meeting agendas and reports are available through the link below.

Joint CCBFC/PTCBS Task Group on the Code Development and Review Process

This joint Task Group issued a report (PDF, KB) in November 1998 that outlined the elements of an improved coordinated building, fire, and plumbing code development and review system to better meet the needs of the provinces and territories. This Task Group was subsequently dissolved and another joint CCBFC/Provincial/Territorial Task Group was convened to continue work on developing and implementing an improved code development system for Canada. This second Task Group's eight meeting agendas and reports are available through the link below.

Joint CCBFC/PTCBS Task Group on Implementation of a New Code Development System

This Task Group produced draft Policies and Procedures for the new code development system, which were finalized and approved by the CCBFC and the provinces and territories. The recommended changes, which include the creation of the Provincial/Territorial Policy Advisory Committee on Codes (PTPACC) and joint national/provincial/territorial public consultations, have since been implemented.